Rockies’ Chi Chi Gonzalez blasted for three homers in second inning as Marlins romp – The Denver Post

For those looking for further evidence as to why the 2021 Rockies might lose 100 games, Thursday night’s game was Exhibit A.

The Miami Marlins, behind a dominating start from prized rookie left-hander Trevor Rogers, clobbered the Rockies, 11-4, at loanDepot Park. Rogers, 23, allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings, striking out eight.

“He did a good job mixing up his pitches and he has really good stuff,” said Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, who came off the injured list to play in his first game since straining his right elbow.

The Rockies continue to be an anemic offensive team on the road, despite their late rally on Thursday. And the club’s lack of pitching depth showed up again.

The Rockies fell to 5-24 away from Coors Field and are still looking for their first road series this season. And with a 25-38 overall record, they’re on pace to finish 64-98.

Going into the game, Colorado manager Bud Black knew he needed a solid start from right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez, who’s filling a spot in the rotation for the injured Jon Gray. But Gonzalez was blasted.

“Any mistake I made tonight, they hit it hard,” said Gonzalez, a native of South Florida who had a big contingent of family and friends in attendance. “When I needed to execute a breaking ball tonight, I couldn’t.”

Gonzalez said he was excited, not nervous, pitching in front of friends.

“I felt their energy, it’s just unfortunate I didn’t pitch well,” he said. “But it was just like any other game, in my mindset. I just made too many mistakes.”

Black said he would be concerned if Gonzalez was making good pitches and still getting hit hard. Black, however, said that was not that case.

“He just missed spots, ” Black said. “A lot of pitchers in this league cannot miss spots, and Chi Chi is one of them.”

The Marlins got to him for eight runs on 11 hits, including three home runs, in five innings. The runs, hits and homers were all career-high worsts for Gonzalez, whose ERA soared from 4.84 to 5.74.

The Marlins mashed three home runs in a sixth-run second inning — a two-run blast by Adam Duvall, a three-run homer by Jazz Chisholm, and a solo shot by Starling Marte, who went 4-for-5 and is hitting .360.

Miami’s Rogers gave up a single to Charlie Blackmon in the first and didn’t allow another hit until the seventh when Brendan Rodgers cranked a pinch-hit, leadoff solo homer. It was just Colorado’s 13th home run on the road.

Then Story singled off Rogers, as did Ryan McMahon. Story scored on Yonathan Daza’s groundout to third.

Story said his elbow felt fine and he was able to cut loose on throws when he needed to.

“That’s the thing about injuries sometimes,” Story said when asked if he’d cleared the mental hurdles of being hurt. “But I felt really good in the days before (coming back). We were playing this thing smart. I felt really good in practice and I just trusted that instinct when it came time for a game.”

The Rockies now head to Cincinnati to begin a three-game series on Friday.

Source: Read Full Article